The Moment He Felt Hope
by huffletodapuffle
Summary: Like any 13 year old boy, Remus Lupin is going to have a crush.  Too bad it's on his best friend's girl.  Oneshot.


**A/N: Inspiration struck while listening to The Remus Lupins and looking at HP fanart! Also a slight delay from Falling For Remus Lupin, my multi-chapter fanfic I have going. Stupid writer's Block! :( Anyway, please enjoy.**

At thirteen years of age, Remus Lupin was anything but your ordinary teenage boy. Being a werewolf at such a young age was a hard thing to take on, but he did so beautifully. Having done his research through his love of reading, (another thing that an ordinary teenage boy wouldn't have) and having his best friends, James, Sirius and Peter by him every full moon, he assumed the life of an ordinary teenager.

And, of course, the life of an ordinary teenager involved falling for other teenagers, usually of the opposite sex. And Remus had fallen, hard and fast.

Unfortunately, he had fallen for his best friend's girl…kind of.

You see, since the day he came to Hogwarts, James Potter had his eye on Lily Evans, the witty and bright girl that had taken a seat next to him after the sorting. Lily, on the other hand, never gave him the time of day. James was convinced that the more he asked, the more likely he'd get a date with her, while it really just made her more annoyed. Still, he was very persistent.

"Hey Evans!" he called again, whilst sitting beneath the Whomping Willow with the Marauders. Lily had her back to him, walking across the grounds with Severus, the mysterious Slytherin boy who seemed to be with Lily every time she turned a corner. Lily, merely turning her head and rolling her eyes when she saw who the voice belonged to, muttered, "Come on, Sev," and was on her way.

"She wants me," James said, shrugging off her cold shouldered reply, returning to his normally arrogant self.

Sirius rolled his eyes, laughing. "Keep thinking that," he said, clapping his un-biological brother on the back. This was the normal response James usually got. Remus couldn't help but compare that to the response _he _usually got from Lily, which was a warm smile and a bright, "Hello Remus!" She was just so beautiful, and smart and kind…how could he _not _fall for her?

"What do you think Moony?" James asked, snapping Remus out of his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Evans," Sirius continued. "James is completely convinced that she'll come around by the end of the year. I, on the other hand, believe that it will take her until at least the end of eternity." Sirius let out a laugh, Peter following suit, like he always did, and James taking a hearty punch to Sirius' shoulder.

"Heh," Remus let out a short laugh that was barely one at all. "Eternity, yeah. Good one." His friends, of course, had no clue about his little crush on Lily. They couldn't.

"You okay Moony?" James asked, eyeing his friend. "You seem distant."

"He's fine," Sirius answered for him. "'That time of the month' is up again, remember."

This hit Remus as a surprise. He had all but forgotten his 'furry little problem' until now. Thinking about it again, his heart sank into his stomach. That was it, then. He could never be with a woman. He'd put her in danger. It wasn't worth the risk. Right then and there, he lost all hope.

Later that day, in the library, Lily found Remus at a table, nose in a book. Literally. His nose was in the binding of the book that was open in front of him, as he had laid his head down on it.

"Remus?" she questioned, approaching the table. He lifted his head slightly at the sound of her voice. His heart skipped a beat at the realization it was her, out of sheer habit.

"Hello Lily," he said, trying to force a smile to his face.

"Is everything okay?" Lily asked, pulling out a chair to sit next to him. Right as Remus opened his mouth to say something, she intervened with, "Don't you dare lie to me!" Remus cracked a slight smile. This was so _Lily. _

"Girls," he muttered, daring not look her in the eye.

Lily sighed. "Tell me about it." When Remus gave her a questioning gaze, she quickly corrected herself. "I mean guys," she said hastily.

Remus gave a slight laugh. "What's on your mind?" he asked.

Lily bit her lip, like she did when she was nervous, looking around. "Promise not to tell anyone?" she asked.

"I promise," Remus replied.

"It's Ja…Potter," Lily started off. "He's just so arrogant and annoying, and…"She stopped and ran a hand through her long red hair, letting out a big sigh. "Cute."

This made Remus look up in surprise. His heart dropped to his feet, right then and there.

"I know, it doesn't seem like I think so, but I just…ugh," she sighed again. "You promise you won't tell anyone, right?"

"Promise," Remus repeated.

"Good," Lily said. "So what are you thinking about?"

Remus licked his lips, a nervous habit, while trying to piece together the best way to say something in his mind. "No girl is ever going to like me."

"Oh, Remus!" Lily said, laughing a little. "Of course they will! You're nice, smart, and very handsome." His heart lifted slightly. "Listen to me. One day, some girl will be very lucky to have you." She stood up, nodding at him, leaving the library.

As she was leaving, Remus felt a little glimmer of hope in his chest. Maybe Lily wasn't right for him anyway. He'd never really had a thing for redheads anyway. Maybe, someday, someone would accept him for who he was, and they could work something out for the full moon.

Leaving the library, Remus Lupin had a renewed hope; and at that exact moment, Nymphadora Tonks was born.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! That's been nagging at the back of my mind for the better part of the last hour and I had to get it out of my system. Reviews are awesome. **


End file.
